Paranormal Activity 2
Encyclopedia
Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry
. The film is a parallel prequel
to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film. It was released in theaters at midnight on October 22, 2010 in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada.
) and Dan Rey (Brian Boland). Every room is completely trashed except for their infant son Hunter's bedroom. The only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie (Katie Featherston
), had given her. Dan installs security cameras throughout the house to watch over Hunter. Martine (Vivis Cortez), the family housekeeper and nanny, attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits
," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage
. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon
when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim
), begins investigating the mysterious happenings after she is lured outside by loud banging and the door shuts and locks behind her apparently by itself. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their first-born son. She also realizes that until Hunter, there had not been a male child born in Kristi and Katie's family since the time of their great-great grandmother.
The violence continues to escalate and Kristi is tormented further; the family's loyal German Shepherd Dog
, Abby, is attacked violently off-camera and apparently suffers a seizure
. Dan and Ali take the dog to the vet, leaving Kristi alone with Hunter. She goes to check on the baby and is violently assaulted by an unseen force and dragged into the basement, where she stays for several hours. Finally, the basement door opens and Kristi walks through the living room.
The following day, Ali is home with Kristi, who will not get out of bed. Ali looks at the inside of the basement door and finds it covered in scratches. She also sees a word, Meus (Latin
for "mine"), scratched into the door. After hearing noises, Ali finds Kristi upstairs with Hunter, and Kristi aggressively tells Ali not to touch Hunter. When Dan arrives, Ali, who has watched the security tapes from the night before, begs him to view the footage of Kristi's attack. After watching the tape, he immediately calls Martine, who prepares a cross that will exorcise the demon; Kristi will have no memory of having been possessed. Dan tells Ali that he is going to pass the demon onto Katie so that Kristi and Hunter will be saved. Although Ali begs him not to because it is unfair to Katie, Dan sees no other way to save his wife and son.
That night, when Dan tries to use the cross on Kristi, she violently attacks him, and all the lights in the house go out. They turn the hand-held camera's night vision
on, and find that Kristi has disappeared along with Hunter. Furniture all over the house begins toppling over, and the chandeliers shake. Dan chases Kristi into the basement and she attacks him. He touches her with the cross, causing her to collapse to the floor. The ground rumbles and inhuman growls and roars are heard, until finally the shaking stops. Dan puts Kristi to bed and burns a photo of a young Katie (the same photo Micah later finds in the attic of his and Katie's house, as depicted in the first film).
Three weeks later, Katie visits and explains how strange things have now begun happening at her house. She returns home, where she finds that Micah has purchased a new video camera (the rest of the scene consists of approximately the first 2 minutes of the previous film). On October 9th, the night after Micah is killed, Katie, possessed and bloodstained, breaks into Dan and Kristi's home and kills Dan by breaking his neck. She then climbs the stairs and attacks and kills Kristi in Hunter's room, violently hurling her against the camera and taking the baby. Katie leaves the room, cradling Hunter with a satisfied look on her face. The screen fades to black as Hunter's crying dies down and turns into laughter.
The film ends with text stating that Ali was on a school trip and returned home to find the bodies of Daniel and Kristi Rey on October 12th 2006, and that Katie and Hunter's whereabouts remain unknown.
and DreamWorks
hired screenwriter Michael R. Perry
to create Paranormal Activity 2. Oren Peli
, the director of the first film, served as a producer for this prequel. Kevin Greutert
, director of Saw VI
, was initially hired to direct the prequel; however, Lions Gate Entertainment
exercised a clause in Greutert's contract to have him direct the final film in the Saw franchise. Both of the actors from the first film, Katie Featherston
and Micah Sloat
, reprise their roles in the prequel. Tod Williams directed Paranormal Activity 2, which started production in May 2010.
pulled the trailer from several Texas
theaters after receiving complaints that it was too frightening. In Mexico, it was attached to the 3D version of Resident Evil: Afterlife
. A second theatrical trailer was released on October 1, 2010. The trailer was attached to Devil
, My Soul to Take
and Jackass 3D
.
format as well as standard.
, Paranormal Activity 2 has an overall 59% approval rating from critics, with an average
score of 6 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes states that "Paranormal Activity 2 doesn't cover any new ground, but its premise is still scary — and in some respects, it's a better film than the original." Artist Direct calls it "one of the scariest films of all time." Entertainment Weekly
said that the film "blends shock and suspense and smart and scary." Positive reviews tend to view the film as effectively frightening, whereas negative and mixed reviews focus on the movie's perceived slow start. By comparison, Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received a "mixed or average" score of 53, based on 23 reviews. Roger Ebert
, who awarded the original film three and a half stars, awarded Paranormal Activity 2 one-and-a-half out of a possible four stars. The movie has a 5.8 rating at the Internet Movie Database.
with $4.6 million and broke the record for biggest opening for a horror movie of all time. On its opening day, Paranormal Activity 2 placed number one at the box office, making $20,100,000 and finished with a total of $41,500,000 estimated over the weekend, placing first at the box office. It has currently grossed $84,752,907 in North America and $92,759,125 overseas, giving the film a worldwide total of $177,512,032.
/Blu-ray
and video on demand
/pay-per-view
on February 8, 2011, and includes an unrated director's cut and deleted scenes. Paranormal Activity 2 was placed at #1 for top Blu-ray and rental sales for its first week of being out.
, stated that Paramount Pictures had given the greenlight to begin production of Paranormal Activity 3. The film was directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
(who directed the documentary Catfish
). Jason Blum and Oren Peli produced it, along with Steven Schneider and Akiva Goldsman
. The script was written by Christopher B. Landon
. Oren Peli said that Paranormal Activity 3 would be scarier than ever, because it focuses on Katie, who is now possessed by the demon, and also shows footage from her past as a child with her sister and when the demon began to haunt her. The trailer shows that the film may be a prequel set in 1988, focusing on Katie and Kristi when they were younger and stalked by the demon, which was mentioned in the second film. The film began production in June 2011. It was released in theaters on October 21, 2011.
Michael R. Perry
Michael R. Perry is an American television producer, television writer and screenwriter.His television credits include Eerie, Indiana, New York Undercover, American Gothic, The Practice, Millennium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, FreakyLinks, The Guardian, The Dead Zone, House M.D., Persons...
. The film is a parallel prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film. It was released in theaters at midnight on October 22, 2010 in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Plot
In 2006, a "burglary" occurs at the home of Kristi (Sprague GraydenSprague Grayden
Sprague Grayden is an American television, film and theater actress. She appeared in the television drama Jericho, playing schoolteacher Heather Lisinski.-Early life:Grayden was born in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts...
) and Dan Rey (Brian Boland). Every room is completely trashed except for their infant son Hunter's bedroom. The only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie (Katie Featherston
Katie Featherston
-Life and career:Featherston was born in Texas. She attended James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas and participated in numerous drama activities. She attended college at the Southern Methodist University where she studied acting...
), had given her. Dan installs security cameras throughout the house to watch over Hunter. Martine (Vivis Cortez), the family housekeeper and nanny, attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits
Unclean spirit
In English translations of the Bible, unclean spirit is a common rendering of Greek pneuma akatharton , which in its single occurrence in the Septuagint translates Hebrew ....
," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage
Sage
- People :*A "sage" is any wise teacher, someone who imparts wisdom or the perennial philosophy, including spiritual teachers and teachers of mysticism but not necessarily with such religious connotations, so may refer to a:...
. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim
Molly Ephraim
Molly Ephraim is an American actress who has appeared in films, on television and in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre productions. She is best known for playing the role of Wendy Greenhut in the 2008 film College Road Trip, and the daughter, Ali, in Paranormal Activity 2...
), begins investigating the mysterious happenings after she is lured outside by loud banging and the door shuts and locks behind her apparently by itself. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their first-born son. She also realizes that until Hunter, there had not been a male child born in Kristi and Katie's family since the time of their great-great grandmother.
The violence continues to escalate and Kristi is tormented further; the family's loyal German Shepherd Dog
German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
, Abby, is attacked violently off-camera and apparently suffers a seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
. Dan and Ali take the dog to the vet, leaving Kristi alone with Hunter. She goes to check on the baby and is violently assaulted by an unseen force and dragged into the basement, where she stays for several hours. Finally, the basement door opens and Kristi walks through the living room.
The following day, Ali is home with Kristi, who will not get out of bed. Ali looks at the inside of the basement door and finds it covered in scratches. She also sees a word, Meus (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "mine"), scratched into the door. After hearing noises, Ali finds Kristi upstairs with Hunter, and Kristi aggressively tells Ali not to touch Hunter. When Dan arrives, Ali, who has watched the security tapes from the night before, begs him to view the footage of Kristi's attack. After watching the tape, he immediately calls Martine, who prepares a cross that will exorcise the demon; Kristi will have no memory of having been possessed. Dan tells Ali that he is going to pass the demon onto Katie so that Kristi and Hunter will be saved. Although Ali begs him not to because it is unfair to Katie, Dan sees no other way to save his wife and son.
That night, when Dan tries to use the cross on Kristi, she violently attacks him, and all the lights in the house go out. They turn the hand-held camera's night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
on, and find that Kristi has disappeared along with Hunter. Furniture all over the house begins toppling over, and the chandeliers shake. Dan chases Kristi into the basement and she attacks him. He touches her with the cross, causing her to collapse to the floor. The ground rumbles and inhuman growls and roars are heard, until finally the shaking stops. Dan puts Kristi to bed and burns a photo of a young Katie (the same photo Micah later finds in the attic of his and Katie's house, as depicted in the first film).
Three weeks later, Katie visits and explains how strange things have now begun happening at her house. She returns home, where she finds that Micah has purchased a new video camera (the rest of the scene consists of approximately the first 2 minutes of the previous film). On October 9th, the night after Micah is killed, Katie, possessed and bloodstained, breaks into Dan and Kristi's home and kills Dan by breaking his neck. She then climbs the stairs and attacks and kills Kristi in Hunter's room, violently hurling her against the camera and taking the baby. Katie leaves the room, cradling Hunter with a satisfied look on her face. The screen fades to black as Hunter's crying dies down and turns into laughter.
The film ends with text stating that Ali was on a school trip and returned home to find the bodies of Daniel and Kristi Rey on October 12th 2006, and that Katie and Hunter's whereabouts remain unknown.
Cast
- Katie FeatherstonKatie Featherston-Life and career:Featherston was born in Texas. She attended James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas and participated in numerous drama activities. She attended college at the Southern Methodist University where she studied acting...
as Katie - Sprague GraydenSprague GraydenSprague Grayden is an American television, film and theater actress. She appeared in the television drama Jericho, playing schoolteacher Heather Lisinski.-Early life:Grayden was born in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts...
as Kristi Rey, Katie's sister - Brian Boland as Daniel Rey
- Molly EphraimMolly EphraimMolly Ephraim is an American actress who has appeared in films, on television and in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre productions. She is best known for playing the role of Wendy Greenhut in the 2008 film College Road Trip, and the daughter, Ali, in Paranormal Activity 2...
as Ali Rey, Dan's daughter - Micah SloatMicah SloatMicah Sloat is an American theatre actor and musician, largely unknown before his leading role as Micah in the 2007 hit horror film, Paranormal Activity. He appeared in the horror prequel in 2010, Paranormal Activity 2.-Life and career:...
as Micah Sloat, Katie's boyfriend - Seth Ginsberg as Brad
- Vivis Cortez as Martine, the nanny/housekeeper
- Jackson Xenia Prieto and William Juan Prieto as Hunter Rey, Dan and Kristi's baby son
- David Bierend as Surveillance Camera Expert
Production
ParamountParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
hired screenwriter Michael R. Perry
Michael R. Perry
Michael R. Perry is an American television producer, television writer and screenwriter.His television credits include Eerie, Indiana, New York Undercover, American Gothic, The Practice, Millennium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, FreakyLinks, The Guardian, The Dead Zone, House M.D., Persons...
to create Paranormal Activity 2. Oren Peli
Oren Peli
Oren Peli is an Israeli-born American film director, producer and screenwriter, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer.-Biography:...
, the director of the first film, served as a producer for this prequel. Kevin Greutert
Kevin Greutert
-External links:...
, director of Saw VI
Saw VI
Saw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
, was initially hired to direct the prequel; however, Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
exercised a clause in Greutert's contract to have him direct the final film in the Saw franchise. Both of the actors from the first film, Katie Featherston
Katie Featherston
-Life and career:Featherston was born in Texas. She attended James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas and participated in numerous drama activities. She attended college at the Southern Methodist University where she studied acting...
and Micah Sloat
Micah Sloat
Micah Sloat is an American theatre actor and musician, largely unknown before his leading role as Micah in the 2007 hit horror film, Paranormal Activity. He appeared in the horror prequel in 2010, Paranormal Activity 2.-Life and career:...
, reprise their roles in the prequel. Tod Williams directed Paranormal Activity 2, which started production in May 2010.
Marketing
In a special promotion set up by the film's producers, participants had a chance to win a free movie ticket if they were in the top twenty cities to demand the film, via Eventful.com. The teaser trailer was seen with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse upon its release on June 30, 2010. CinemarkCinemark Theatres
Cinemark Theatres is a chain of movie theatres owned by Cinemark Holdings, Inc. in North and South America and Taiwan. It has its headquarters in Plano, Texas.Cinemark's Missions Statement Reads as follows:...
pulled the trailer from several Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
theaters after receiving complaints that it was too frightening. In Mexico, it was attached to the 3D version of Resident Evil: Afterlife
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Resident Evil: Afterlife is a 2010 Canadian-German 3D science-fiction horror action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It stars Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe, and Wentworth Miller. The film marks Anderson's second time to direct in...
. A second theatrical trailer was released on October 1, 2010. The trailer was attached to Devil
Devil (film)
Devil is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by Brian Nelson based on a story by M. Night Shyamalan. The film stars Chris Messina, Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Marshall-Green, Jenny O'Hara and Geoffrey Arend...
, My Soul to Take
My Soul to Take
My Soul to Take is a 2010 American horror film, written and directed by Wes Craven. It is his first film since 1994's Wes Craven's New Nightmare that he both wrote and directed.The film stars Max Thieriot as the protagonist Adam "Bug" Hellerman, who is one of seven teenagers chosen to die.The film...
and Jackass 3D
Jackass 3D
Jackass 3D is a 2010 American 3D comedy film and the fourth film in the Jackass series. It was released on October 15, 2010 by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to American theaters and marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise, which started in 2000...
.
Release
The film was released in the United States on October 22, 2010. The film was made available in IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
format as well as standard.
Critical reception
Paranormal Activity 2 received mixed reviews. Based on 123 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, Paranormal Activity 2 has an overall 59% approval rating from critics, with an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 6 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes states that "Paranormal Activity 2 doesn't cover any new ground, but its premise is still scary — and in some respects, it's a better film than the original." Artist Direct calls it "one of the scariest films of all time." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said that the film "blends shock and suspense and smart and scary." Positive reviews tend to view the film as effectively frightening, whereas negative and mixed reviews focus on the movie's perceived slow start. By comparison, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Normalization (statistics)
In one usage in statistics, normalization is the process of isolating statistical error in repeated measured data. A normalization is sometimes based on a property...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received a "mixed or average" score of 53, based on 23 reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, who awarded the original film three and a half stars, awarded Paranormal Activity 2 one-and-a-half out of a possible four stars. The movie has a 5.8 rating at the Internet Movie Database.
Box office
Paranormal Activity 2 broke the record for biggest midnight gross for an R-rated movie with $6.3 million beating previous WatchmenWatchmen (film)
Watchmen is a 2009 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Malin Åkerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson. It is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons...
with $4.6 million and broke the record for biggest opening for a horror movie of all time. On its opening day, Paranormal Activity 2 placed number one at the box office, making $20,100,000 and finished with a total of $41,500,000 estimated over the weekend, placing first at the box office. It has currently grossed $84,752,907 in North America and $92,759,125 overseas, giving the film a worldwide total of $177,512,032.
Home media
Paranormal Activity 2 was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
/Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
/pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
on February 8, 2011, and includes an unrated director's cut and deleted scenes. Paranormal Activity 2 was placed at #1 for top Blu-ray and rental sales for its first week of being out.
Sequel
In an interview with Dread Central, director and producer, Oren PeliOren Peli
Oren Peli is an Israeli-born American film director, producer and screenwriter, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer.-Biography:...
, stated that Paramount Pictures had given the greenlight to begin production of Paranormal Activity 3. The film was directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Ariel Schulman
Ariel Schulman is a American filmmaker and screenwriter who, along with partner Henry Joost, directed the movies Catfish and Paranormal Activity 3. He graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Film program in 2004. He lives in New York City....
(who directed the documentary Catfish
Catfish (film)
Catfish is a 2010 American documentary involving a young man being filmed by his brother and friend as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook.-Plot:...
). Jason Blum and Oren Peli produced it, along with Steven Schneider and Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
. The script was written by Christopher B. Landon
Christopher B. Landon
Christopher Beau Landon is an American screenwriter best known as the writer of 2007 film Disturbia and as the son of filmmaker Michael Landon.-Career:...
. Oren Peli said that Paranormal Activity 3 would be scarier than ever, because it focuses on Katie, who is now possessed by the demon, and also shows footage from her past as a child with her sister and when the demon began to haunt her. The trailer shows that the film may be a prequel set in 1988, focusing on Katie and Kristi when they were younger and stalked by the demon, which was mentioned in the second film. The film began production in June 2011. It was released in theaters on October 21, 2011.